By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (13-8, 5-3) fell on the road to Morehead State (6-13, 2-6) Saturday afternoon by a final score of 74-55.
Morehead used a big advantage on the glass to overcome an otherwise strong defensive effort by the Tech defense, which forced a season-high 26 turnovers in the contest. The Eagles out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 46 to 24, including a 36-17 advantage on the defensive glass.
The Tech offense struggled on the night, converting just 35.6 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from 3-point range and 44.4 percent from the charity stripe. On the flip side, Morehead fared well when shooting the ball on its own floor, finishing the game 51.1 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from deep and 73.9 percent from the free throw line.
After losing the turnover battle in the first half, 12-11, Tech took care of the ball with a renewed vigor over the final 20 minutes, coughing it up just four times. Defensively, the Golden Eagles forced 15 second-half turnovers by the Eagles, but we just unable to convert them to points on the other end of the floor.
Senior forward Curtis Phillips Jr. led the Golden Eagles with 18 points on the night, finishing 7-of-18 from the floor. Graduate guard Kajon Mack hauled in a team-high eight rebounds while scoring six points. Courtney Alexander II tallied 10 points in the contest as well, hitting 4-of-6 tries from the field.
Morehead was led by Lamontray Harris, who tallied a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Malek Green added 13 points while James Baker chipped in eight.
The Golden Eagles will return to the Eblen Center Thursday, Jan. 25 to host Southeast Missouri in a 7:30 p.m. CT contest. Tech will then host UT Martin on Saturday, also a 7:30 p.m. affair.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
